This painting is featured as the cover art for a new book by author / poet Lynn Stronin ALABAMA LIGHT & POWER CO.

This is Tamzen. She’s a long-time school friend of my youngest daughter Sarah. Both are now 11.

Her hair is blown by a steady sea breeze and lit with the golden-hour light of sunset on Long Beach near Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC. The sun is also reflecting off the damp sand of the tidal markings, reminiscent of a sun-bleached skeleton from some ancient dinosaur, buried in the sand. In the background, a random beach dog has spooked a few crows that were gathered on the sand, doing whatever it is that crows do on the beach.

My intent here was to portray the elements of nature influencing my subject ... the stark sunlight, fresh breeze and shimmering water all affecting her in their subtle ways. Surrounded by various critters, busy with their own lives. Tamzen herself appears in an introspective daze, deep in some unknown thought, oblivious to environment and the happenings around her.

I completed this painting on Earth Day 2009, hence the title – “Earthdaze.” Mark Heine